Summit Up 2-3-13: In awe of these beer-guzzling ski industry professionals

Special to the Daily
Rick and Paula Williamson remembered to bring their SDN along when they visited their niece, Amanda, who is attending medical school in sunny Grand Cayman, British West Indies. Send your SDN Globetrotting pics to summitup@summitdaily.com.

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Good morning and welcome to Summit Up, the world's only daily column that's totally overwhelmed from the SIA Snow Show.

That's right. Your one-and-only Summit Up abandoned headquarters and headed down to Denver to take in what is the thousands of exhibitors, buyers and media wanting in on the latest and greatest in the ski world.

It's mayhem, that show. First you get there and you're ambushed by the credential folks, battering you for identification - even though you're just another one of the peons wandering the expanse that is the exhibit hall at the Colorado Convention Center.

Then, when you step inside the hall, you're hit with an onslaught of, well, smells. After all, it's 20,000 or so people all gathered in one room! It's like a wave crashing over you, and not exactly a refreshing one.

You think to yourself, "Well, just eight hours to go until they start handing out the beer."

Sounds irresponsible, we know. This is supposed to be a gathering of professionals, after all.

But, let's face it, ski industry professionals like to party. Sure, they'll show off their product and see if they can make a sale, but when it's all said and done, the end of the day comes, and they want a cold beer in hand. Sometimes, they'll bring more than a cooler to keep the beer cold. Sometimes, they'll even have a little hidden frig to keep those brews cold.

And we're here to tell you: It's perfectly OK.

You try walking back and forth, tallying about five miles in a day, maybe more, all while constantly talking to people. This ain't no hike through the woods, folks. This could be an endurance race.

And what better way to celebrate the end of an endurance race than with a cold brew?

What's funny is, we here at the Summit Up World Headquarters usually only go for a day. We're such wusses! Guess what? Those ski industry professionals do it for a whole four days before they're let off the hook. Talk about endurance. Four days, walking and talking, walking and talking? Then, they get a few hours to head up to Winter Park to set up the demo village that stays up for two days before they get a breath of fresh air - finally.

We're in awe of these beer-guzzling ski industry professionals. We hope this Summit Up has made you feel the same way.